


Another Day, Another Dollar

by Kittenears411



Category: Rick and Morty
Genre: Gen, mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-09-18 07:46:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16990905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kittenears411/pseuds/Kittenears411
Summary: What started off as a friendly conversation at your job blooms into an experience unlike any other.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, this story started off as a one shot over on tumblr, but as I read through it and saw the response I got from it, I decided to turn it into a series.

You always try to put a smile on people’s faces when you go to work. It’s always a treat to see someone’s sour face turn around for the better with your influence, and today was no different. If only you knew what was in store for you at the check out line.

As usual, you begin scanning items, bagging appropriately as you address the customer with your sweet “hello!” cheerful but not too loud.

“Hey sweetness.” You haven’t looked up yet, still busy bagging, but from what you hear, this man sounds like an older customer. You take note of it incase he has trouble with his card. And because his voice is so nice.

“How’s your day going, sir?” You say as you finally look up. His intense gaze is what stops you for a moment. He holds eye contact as he replies, “Better now.” With a smirk. It was then when you realize…

Was he flirting with you? And why are you okay with that? Are you over thinking? No he’s flirting! And your okay with that…tell him his total!

“Your total is $8.09.” You state timidly. All of a sudden your shy.

He grumbles, obviously caught off guard because which item had tax? And pulls out his card. Oh boy. You wait for the expected confusion which… Never comes…? The receipt prints out and you hand it to him with a sweet “have a good day!” Surprised that for once an old person has their card figured out.

“I mean I’ll try. I won’t be able to see you for the rest of it but I’ll try.” This guy…

“Aw you’re too sweet.” You hope you don’t sound annoyed, you actually quite like his company. As you’re about to leave the register for a break, he stops you.

“Wait uh… (Y/N) Is it? Here’s a tip.” He tries to hand you money, but knowing the rules here you have to say, “Oh sir we don’t accept tips here but thank you!” At this point you didn’t look down at what he was giving you but he lifts his hand slightly to reveal a $50 dollar bill…?!

“Yes you do.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a busy day at work and a customer gets snappy.

A couple of weeks had passed since the strange but nice man had given you the biggest tip you shouldn't have kept. He started stopping by more often and you started getting to know him better, Rick being his name. It would always be a similar kind of interaction when he stopped by, a simple greeting from you and open flirting from him. Today, you got in for a later shift, and after some time on the register, you see him come in like he said he would every day he arrived.  
Although you love your job, rush hour is quite possibly the worst time to start a shift. The unexpected always comes a little quicker than an earlier shift, so unlike other times, you don't get a chance to say hello to your favorite customer. But he does see you. And when he's ready to purchase he makes a b line for your line. He catches your eye and you smile when he winks at you. Your moment is cut short, however, when the old woman you're helping yells your name.

"Excuse me miss! You can't double bag my things for me? It'll break." This woman looks a bit frustrated so you try to be patient with her.

"I'm sorry ma'am, I'll do that for you right now." You say with the syrupy sweet voice you learned to put on. After the lady's transaction, barely taking a breath, the man behind her hurries to push his items in front of you. "I gotta get on the bus hurry up and swipe."

You begin scanning the items that are entirely too heavy to rush and put in a bag when you start hearing him grumbling to himself about how you're "too slow" And he "should've went to the male cashier", As if he would have went any faster. You aren't too bothered by this, it happens all the time. However, you glance up and see that Rick isn't too happy with this man talking mess about you. You see home clench his jaw, and his brow turns to a V shape. right before he opens his mouth to say something he'll regret, you tell the man his total.

"$10.82, sir."  
" 'The hell do you mean $10.82?" Oh boy.  
"Sir there's tax on some of these products-"  
"Damn it I knew I shoulda went to the man to swipe these you can't do anything right!" Before the man continues his rant on you, Rick jumps in, to your rescue.

"Hey, watch your damn mouth and chill! You're too broke to pay for it or something?" As soon as you heard this, you and the man turn your heads to the culprit. Aw man. You didn't think he had it in him.

"Aye man, mind your business. I can pay for it I just-" The man started but at this point your pretty sure Rick is in control of this argument.

"I don't give a shit just don't talk to her like that, pay for your shit and go. " Rick said through his teeth. Even though he was already so mad it seemed like he was holding back. What is he thinking? Come to think of it, you don't fully know Rick that well. What is he even capable of? It didn't take long for things to quickly down as the man realized Rick wasn't gonna back down anytime soon, and he made his exit.

After the slight disturbance, Rick sets his things on the conveyor belt and begins to look at you with concern. You start to feel bad, you didn't mean to worry him. So you assure him.

"I'm okay, Rick. Thank you."  
"Not what I was gonna ask. Y-You're a big girl you can handle a-holes like that." He says, pouting.  
"Heh. Okay then whats up?" When you don't hear a response you look up. There is that intense stare again. He inhales and then asks,  
"You want me to take care of him?"...What did that mean? You look at him like he just told you he knew your deepest secret. But his face never faltered. He wasn't joking! You try to lighten the mood with a nervous giggle.

"Um, that'll be 8 dollars even. And 'taking care of' people for me will never be necessary, but again thank you, hun." The nickname slipped out so you giggled more. This seemed to please him as his scowl finally broke into a smirk.

"You're cute, you know that (Y/N)?"  
"Oh hush. Just take your things. I'll see you tomorrow?" He needs to leave now before your whole face starts burning red.  
"Man I hope so, I gotta find something I'm missing at home to come see you, sweet pea." This man is entirely too much. He goes to leave when he stops himself. "Oh! Here."

He goes in his pocket and takes out a pen, pressing the button on your receipt machine.

"Um? You can't do that!" You state, only half serious. He rushes to write down his little note as he sees people beginning to queue up.  
"Good job stopping me. Take this." He says handing you the scribbled paper.  
"What is...!" You look at the paper to see ten digits and a note saying "call me" With a winking face...and another $50 bill!? What a cornball! Also he's giving you his number!? And MORE money??? You're speechless.  
"Talk to you later, baby girl!"  
"Uh... Yeah. Bye..." And with that he was gone.  
It takes you a minute, but you snap out of it and get back to work.

After you get out, you put in his number in your phone and name him "old man Rick" Because why not? It's not like he'll ever see that.  
Me: hey, it's (Y/N)  
Old Man Rick: yo  
Me: you never told me your age  
Old Man Rick: never ask someone their age  
Me: I thought that was only for women  
Old Man Rick: aw she caught me. 70s.

Gosh. You knew his age was gonna be up there but... Wow. Well. There's no harm in a simple crush, right?


	3. Chapter 3

I gotta take you out sometime soon, sweet pea.”

“Huh?”

Well this was a first. It’s been a few weeks since you and Rick have been friendly, and he’s always been super flirty with you. He was never creepy, so it was nice to get the attention. However, he’s never made a move like this. He didn’t make the predicament any less awkward, since you were at work, packing out storage, with your manager nearby.

“Take you out. As in to get ice cream. Like a… Date or whatever. Eh, doesn’t sound right coming from my mouth.” He’s shifted to each leg a total of 4 times during his ramble, and you notice he hasn’t looked you in the eye ever since he suggested the date. Was he nervous? There’s nothing to be nervous about. Unless he thought he was too old for you.

“Rick I’ve never seen you this nervous, you don’t have to be.” When He looks up in response to your reassurance, you notice he has a slight pink hue on his cheeks. “Are you blushing??” You nearly drop the box in your hands.

“Shut up! Just tell me if you wanna go or not.” You didn’t want to test his patience any further, (though seeing the roles reverse is refreshing) so you made you decision.

“Yeah, sure. what time?”

_______

That Sunday, he walked to get you. You figured he would have driven, but you didn’t think much of it. The destination was walking distance from your place anyway.

“(Y/N), hey.” He greeted, along with a side hug. “Let’s go, it’s sorta chilly.”

Getting ice cream this time of year was not on your agenda, so you convinced Rick to go get coffee with you instead. Plus, you both agreed to go to a shop connected to an ice cream parlor, so if he really wanted ice cream he can get it on his own.

“I’ve only been here once, their ice cream is always frost bitten like it old or something, the lowest quality. I can take you to get way better.” A real ice cream connoisseur, isn’t he?

“Oh really? When are you taking me?” You question, hoping not to sound too eager to go out with him again. However, that hope was thrown away when you looked up to him, sporting an arrogant grin and side eyeing you.

“Wouldn’t you like to know. Anyways the next destination is a surprise, buttercup. Speaking of buttercups, they have a new Reese’s flavor icecream?! (Y/N) Hurry up and come on!”

“I thought you didn’t like their ice cream-Rick I’m in heels!” He’s already at the door when you start a little jog to him. Your booties weren’t too high but you still kick yourself for being so bold.

“Get in, slow poke.” He teases, holding the door open for you. At least he has a little manners.

It was 3pm, so it wasn’t too full. You take your orders separately, as he makes a b-line for the ice cream side, and you both get a seat at a window. You notice he has a cone with two scoops of ice cream in one hand, which is okay, but then he has a cup and spoon in the other.

“Why do you have that?” You ask, pointing to the cup.

“First of all, rude to point. Second, you’ve never done this before?” He asks, putting the materials down. And then he does something you mentally slap yourself for not ever thinking of. Upside down goes the cone in the cup and with a crunch, the cone is crushed to pieces. He then takes the spoon and starts eating it like a Sunday. You’re speechless. He will never stop amazing you. “You really haven’t done this before, have you? Nerd.”

“But why don’t you just get a sundae”

“And pay an extra 3 dollars just to take all the bells and whistles that you don’t want off? I don’t like to waste my time, hun.” He proclaims with the confidence only a man who knows what he’s doing can muster.

You spent hours in that coffee shop/ice cream parlor with Rick. It felt like no time at all being around this man. From listening to his endless rants of scientific mumbo jumbo you love listening to, to the back and forth of puns and judging the patrons that come in every now and then. You could’ve stayed in that hard chair for the rest of your life if only to stay in his company. He was just so interesting to be around.

You look at the time and figure it would be a good time to go back home, although you didn’t want to. “Hey-” You get his attention, his eyebrow raising. “-I don’t really want this date to end. You wanna come back to my place? We can watch a movie.”

He takes a second to think. And then he smirks at you. “Yeah I can go for that. This chair is giving me back pain anyway.”

_____

That night, you have a movie marathon with Rick. A night filled with terrible Nicholas Cage films, cat woman, the room 3 times and birdemic. In the middle of the movies, you end up cuddled next to the man with his arm over your shoulder, uncontrollably laughing and cringing at the disasters. It felt comfortable having him near you. But all good things come to an end, and after the last movie, you look at your phone to see that it’s midnight. Time to tell Rick to go home. Just as you turn your head to try and force out a goodbye, he starts to rise up from your futon with a stretch. A bittersweet feeling blooms within you.

“Well! I gotta go. Let me out, woman.”

“Aw okay.” You say, pouting. You were too tired to be embarrassed about the fact that you were openly trying to be cute, and it made him smile, so you’re okay with it.

“Hey, we’ll hang out another time. Don’t worry, baby.” That was your favorite nickname he had for you. He really knows how to make you blush. “Heh… You like that, rosey cheeks?”

“Shut up and get out. Call me when you get home.” He nods at your order and makes his way to your front door. In hindsight, the motivation might have been your tired mind or wishful thinking, but you get up to pull him back lightly, wanting to do one last thing. “Wait.”

“Which one is it…?” He starts his protest, but your embrace stopped him short. You hope he doesn’t push you away as you tighten you hold ever so slightly. And then, thankfully, he returns the gesture with an equally tight hug. “I’ll call you.” He says, as he pushes his fingertips in your hair, massaging your scalp.

“You better.”

_______

The next morning, as you begin to make your way out the door for work, you notice a $100 bill in the candy bowl on your coffee table. You pick it up and chuckle to yourself.

“What are you, my sugar daddy?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody! Thank you for leaving kudos! I'm kinda awkward at these note things, but I'll get used to it lol


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Somebody really crosses a line at work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm not sure if this is a trigger warning, but if you ever been in a situation where someone is being intrusive and inappropriate towards you and thinking about it upsets you then just be careful when reading this chapter.

It’s been a while since you and Rick have started going on small dates, and now that you’ve been seeing him, your attitude has changed somewhat at work. You hadn’t noticed this until customers started saying so. During your regular bagging or customer service they would tell you how cheerful you are, or how nice it was for an employee to be so nice for once. This got the attention of one particular colleague, and after clocking out, he decided to come to you to pay for his items.

“Hey, (y/n). How’s it going?” He says, putting his candy bar and jerky on the conveyor belt.

“Martin! Hi. This is all, correct?”

“Yep.”

“Alrighty. That’ll be $2.18”

“Cool. Hey can I ask you something?” He finishes paying and steps to the side for more customers.

“Uh sure, wassup?” You says after a breath. This wasn’t the first time he’s done something like this. He’s known around your place of work as the… Intrusive type. He’s asked you what kind of guys you’re into, your blood type (???), he even asked for your number. Of course you said no because of some crap about trying to live a private life and blah blah blah. He had asked again but you said an out right no. He never asked after that, but you feared he would ask again one day.

“So I’ve noticed… You’ve been pretty happy lately. You met someone?”

“Yep.” You confirm, quite blunt in manner.You wanted to cut this conversation quickly before anything weird happens.

“Oh, okay. Though you did say you wanted to keep a private life. I always thought that meant alone.” Here we go. You really didn’t want to get anyone fired but if it had to happen…

“Nope. You just assumed that. You have anymore questions?” You were losing patience fast.

“No need to get diffensive,-” But there is a need “-just trying to get to know you better.”

This made you sigh in frustration. You know he knows how to take a hint, he just likes to wear women down until they do what he wants.

“Martin, you and I both know there is a better way to do that. I honestly have no idea why you’re doing this, but if you could stop, that would be ideal.” You’re trying to be patient with him. You really are, there are customers here listening and you don’t want to lash out. He stops to look at you with an intense stare that makes you skin crawl. What’s with this guy?

He keeps staring at you, perhaps in thought, then he smirks at you saying, “It’s that old guy, isn’t it? You guys ARE getting close.” Okay that is it. You turn your light off, indicating your register is closed as you finish helping your last customer. She looks at you in sympathy as she walks off and it makes your blood boil. For him to cross this line doesn’t surprise you, but it does piss you off. He realizes he’s made a mistake in pushing you so far and tries to redeem himself. “Uh, listen I’m sorry-”

“No, you listen to me-” You turn to him, hot tears in your eyes from rage and embarrassment waiting to fall down, “how dare you make a comment like that right in front of a customer?” At this point, you need to take a breath because you’re near panic mode. You turn around, pick up your intercom phone and call for your manager, trying your best to keep composed.

“Hey, (y/n) what’s up-” Your manager, Lee who’s occupied with paperwork, gets to you both and finally looks up to see tears rolling down your face and Martin shifting form side to side, not looking at anything in particular. “What… Happened?”

You tell Lee everything that happened in the safety of his office. You were shaking, less teary eyed, and speaking as enunciated as you could through hiccups, but you got through it. You even tell him about the other times Martin has done similar.

“I see… Thank you for letting me know. I’ll be sure to take care of this.” You hope these weren’t empty words. “Do you wanna take a break?”

“Yes, please. And please let him know what he’s doing is wrong. It’ll safe a lot of the women here the trouble of dealing with him.”

“I’ll be sure to. Now go ahead, take your break and if you want you can go home a little early.”

“That won’t be necessary, sir. But thank you.”

“No problem.”

You really hope those weren’t empty words.

_____

That evening you get to your apartment, emotionally exhausted, and you plop yourself in your bed and curl into yourself. You’re more angry than sad, honestly. You wish things like this didn’t happen. You stare at your phone, unsure of what to do. Finally, you tap Rick’s number for a new message.

Me: hey

Rick: hey baby

Me: come over please

Rick: k

Almost immediately after you read the one letter, you hear a knocking on your door. That couldn’t be… How did… You get to your door’s peephole and low and behold, you see his pastel blue hair.

“Rick?” You ask, swinging open the door. “How are you here so fast??”

“Don’t work about that, are you okay? You needed me right?” You’re weirded out by the avoidance of your question, but the emotions you tried to hide get the better of you as you put your head in your hands. Right now you just needed your cuddle buddy. “Hey, c'mere hun.” He says softly, wrapping his arms around you and closing your door.

“Tell me what happened, sweetheart.”

_____

It took a while for him to get you to calm down enough and tell him, but once you were calm, you told him everything in the comfort of your bed. Exactly how it happened, the way Martin looked at you and how gross it made you feel, your uncertainty about what Lee was gonna do, everything. Rick just let you go through everything in silence. He didn’t speak at all, his expression getting darker and more lethal, but he didn’t frown. His lips we’re in a straight line the whole time. It was his eyes you feared as you spoke to him. Not for yourself, but for Martin. Although he did cross a line, you were afraid of what Rick might have in store for the kid. At the end of your rant he cups your face with both hands, wiping away any other tears that have fallen. He then brings your face towards him slightly, and he closes the gap with a soft kiss to your forehead. His fingertips slip from your rosey cheeks to the nape of you neck and he starts massaging there. You hear him take deep breaths, and melt into the feeling of his warm hands traveling in your hair. He pulls away with a smile, not letting go of your face.

“Thanks for telling me.” Were his first words. And then more silence as he looked you in your eyes. You both held that position for what felt like hours, having some sort of staring contest. Finally, he breaks eye contact and closes his eyes, taking another deep breath. “Come.” He beckons, tugging you towards him so you can lean on him.

“Thanks you for listening.” You say, falling drowsy. You did get home pretty late, but weren’t working tomorrow, so you were thankful for that. “Rick?”

He leans back so that the both of you are laying down, and replies with a “what?” As you hold each other.

“Stay with me for the night, please?” It was bold of you, but you’ve known each other for almost 4 months now, so you figured it would be okay. You know him well enough.

“Of course, sweet pea.”

For the first time that night, a genuine smile crossed your face as you drifted to sleep.

_____

The next time you came to work, Lee called you in to the office for a discussion of sorts. He didn’t tell you what it was about until you took a seat.

“So (y/n), I’m not sure if you know this, but we have been doing a background check on Martin, and along with getting an anonymous tip from a customers encounter with Martin, the assistant managers and I have made a decision to let him go. Thank you for coming to me when you did.” Wait… What?

“Really? What did you find?”

“Well, we aren’t allowed to disclose that information, but he won’t be coming back here. Again thank you for coming to me immediately. If you hadn’t said anything I wouldn’t have known any of that was happening.” You were nearly speechless

“Of course! Thank you for taking action!”

“I had to! And another thing (y/n). Please never be afraid to tell your managers if something like this happens again. You already know we do what we need to for our employees.”

“Thank you, Lee.”

“No problem.”

_____

That night, you messaged about your day as you always do.

Me: can you believe that???

Rick: yeah I can.

Me: oh really? Could you sence how creepy he was?

Rick: no, but I know my letter made an impression.

Um… What is he talking about? You stare at your phone, puzzled by the message as you try to articulate a response.

Me: lol huh?

Rick: yeah i mean, Lee was probably furious by time he finished reading “my” experience with Martin.

Oh God. Oh no…

Me: Rick…

Me: please don’t tell me that was you.

It took a moment to get a response.

Rick: well I don’t like to lie, baby.

You can’t believe this is happening. Did he really do that? You don’t like it when people do things for you, especially things like this.

Me: Rick, you don’t need to do things like that for me. Please don’t. I can handle myself, I’m a big girl, remember?

Rick: yeah I know.

Rick: okay, never again. I’m sorry.

This made you smile. At least he’s apologetic. Hopefully he doesn’t ask for anything in return for that. You didn’t ask for that.

Rick: Gotta admit, He was a dick.

Me: yeah… Lol

Rick: lol

It was getting late, so you decide to end your conversation.

Me: okay I gtg sleep. Night night!

Rick: wait! When r u off next?

Me: uhhh… Day after 2mm. Why?

Rick: I’m taking you out. Be ready.

Me: lol okay hun. Night

Rick: 😘😘😘😘😘😘

Oh gosh, this man’ll be the death of you.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So much fluff. So so SO MUCH fluff.

When Rick had informed you that he was going to bring you somewhere special this time around, you had expected your destination to be Shoney’s or Olive Garden. In your excitement, you chose your outfit of business casual style the day before, wanting things to be perfect or at least better than the last. However, the morning of your date, he called you to asked what you specifically chose to wear. You wondered what this was about. It never mattered before, what was going on now?

“The place I’m taking you is gonna need to see you in more than ‘Business Casual’ As you put it.” He explains, as you listen for the thing he’s fidgeting with in the background. You blush at how much work he was putting into impressing you. You’ve never felt this special from someone not related to you before.

“Thank you for being so thoughtful, Ricky. I’m flattered.” Okay, that was bold of you.

“Heh, well you’ve been such good company to me, I had to repay you for putting up with a man like me.”

“It’s always a pleasure for me, don’t worry about that. Anyways, I have to go get another outfit. I’ll see you later.”

“Wait.” You stop mid turn to give him your undivided attention. “When I show you where we’re going, you promise not to freak out and never speak to me again?” Huh? You didn’t know any place near you that was that extraordinary. He’s probably nervous or exaggerating. Every thing will be fine, right?

“I promise.” You say this without a doubt in your mind. “Now lemme go, hun I gotta find that outfit. Bye bye!”

“See you.” And that was the end of it for now.

It took you a while for you to choose what you thought would be appropriate, since you didn’t know where you were going, but eventually you tried the outfit on and it was perfect. It was just in time too. You were checking out your handy work in the mirror as you heard a knocking on your door. It’s him! Felling butterflies In your tummy, you go straight to the peephole just to make sure you didn’t swing your door open to a stranger. Yup, that’s him alright. And he looks so good too! Taking a deep breath, you open your door to his smiling face and when he catches sight of you, his face lights up.

“Hey beautiful. I love your outfit.” He says, stepping inside.

“Thank you, hun. Come on in! I just have to get my coat and we can go.”

“Alright.” He says, making a b line for the futon. You make a note to look for a better sofa once you got the money. With Rick throwing money on you like he’s allergic to it you wouldn’t have to wait any longer. You get your coat and shoes and finally, you are out of your apartment taking his hand to hold.

He told you he drove here, so you make your way around the corner in search for his car. When you looked around, you caught sight of… A UFO-looking vehicle. That’s weird. You wonder who it belongs to as he takes his keys out his pockets. You always heard the familiar jangle of his keys when you went to hug him so that didnt surprise you. What did surprise you were the lights of the UFO thing light up in response to his keys. This stopped you in your tracks, causing Rick to stop as well. He turns back to you, brow raising. “What’s wrong, sugar?” He asks so innocently, as if he didn’t just park some sort of… Space ship on the road. Maybe it was your eyes messing with you, you had to ask to be sure.

“Um…one question… Is that your ship? And can it fly.” You ask, only partially joking.

“Well you did say one question but I’ll answer both. Yes and…yes.” Don’t freak out.

“…Hm…okay.” You sigh out loud and manage to keep your composer, for now anyway.

“You aren’t freaking out.”

“You told me not to.”

He fully turns to you and smiles, seemingly impressed by how your acting. “Thank you. Just…promise me you’ll leave the questions for after our date?” He requests, placing his hands on your cheeks and stealing heat from them. You didn’t mind too much.

“I promise.” You respond. He smiles, placing a light peck on your forehead, and leads you to the ship where he holds the door open for you to get in. Don’t freak out. Just Don’t. Freak. Out.

.

.

.

“OMGHOLYCRPARICKAHHHHHH.” was the exact sound that came out as he began to drive his ship. You tried not to freak out. You really did. Being on the ground was easy. Being in the ship was less easy but still fine. But when he started it up and the thing began to move OFF THE GROUND, you couldn’t take it anymore. Heights we’re never a concept you agreed with. Airplanes we’re terrifying, rollercoasters were a hassle, hell even elevators creeped you out. But this…this damn ship was doing a good job of triggering you.

“(Y/n), baby, chill out! You’re okay. We haven’t even started moving fast-”

“We have to move faster??” You whip your head in his direction. You can see he’s trying his best to hold in his laughter. And other than that he’s completely fine. He’s done this before. Of course, it is his ship but you’re shocked nonetheless. He chuckles as he reaches for your hand, squeezing it gently.

“You’re fine, love. We’re almost out of earth’s atmosphere.” Out of where’s WHATmosphere?? You go silent at this. You have no idea how to feel about this. You’re leaving earth at this very moment with a man who has probably left earth many times before you. A man who ALSO probably made this ship himself because where the hell are you gonna find something this for a regular dealership? As the pressure builds you turn to him and he’s chill. Like this is a mundane task. You don’t know whether to be terrified of him or pissed off at him for not feeling as exhilarated as you did. You felt the ever increasing pressure as you squeezed his hand hard and then…nothing…you felt fine…slightly disheveled but other than that you were okay. “You’re good now?” Rick asks, making circles on your hand with his thumb.

“I’m fine.”

“A lot better than before! I mean you almost ripped my arm off!” He chuckled. His playfulness abruptly stopped after a moment and you can tell he’s trying to put his thoughts together. And then he turns to look at you. “Just… Let me know if this is too much for you. I can always stop and take you home if you need me to.” He’s so sweet. You couldn’t tell him to stop even if you tried.

“I just said I’m fine, didn’t I?” You say as you turn to him and smile. You’re handling this a lot better than you thought you would. You looked past his head to see the vast darkness of the space around them. This is actually happening. You pinched yourself just to make sure. This is real.

_____

You had some idle conversation with Rick on the way to this destination. Not too in debt, and it didn’t last very long before he let you know that you had arrived. The landing was a little better since you had gotten somewhat used to this whole concept by now. On top of that, the view of the area around you was something unlike anything you have ever seen on earth. It was similar, but just so…saturated. Like someone went up to a Bob Ross painting and went over it with nearly neon colors. It was beautiful. “Alright baby, lemme get that door for you.” You hear Rick say, barely registering what he told you from you being so distracted. It didn’t cross your mind that you might not be able to breathe on this planet until he opened his door. The sudden panic surged through you like a bullet. This is gonna take some more getting used to. This whole “outer space” thing…and trusting Rick as much as before. The place was pretty warm, so you didn’t need your coat. He opens the door for you and takes your hand, taking you for a walk around the beautiful area.

After some walking and talking he turns to you, his smile brightening his face. “What is it?” You ask, puzzled at the sudden halt.

“Close your eyes.” This puzzles you even more. He cups your confused face and pouts slightly, “Babe, everything is fine, just close your eyes and I’ll lead you.” He knows the power he has in that look and he’s using it. After a pause, you close your eyes and latch onto him. He takes a few more steps that you register as turning, and finally he tells you to open them. The scene you are met with are the kinds you only see in movies. It’s a picnic, but it’s much more than that. There’s a blanket -bigger than a California king bed- laying under a set of pillows. The arrangement of pillows is surrounding a huge picnic basket, something you see in a home goods store but never pick it up because when will you ever use it? And it is opened for you to see plates, utensils and what looks to be loads of food! It was decked out! It was all surrounded by a field of flowers the likes of which you have never seen. For the hundreth time since meeting this man, he has made you speechless. “Tada! Do you like it?”

“Rick I…I don’t know what to say…” You can barely get the words out before tears begin flooding in your eyes. You cover your face and a sob comes out. No one has ever done anything so extravagant for you. Especially if they’ve only met you 5 months ago. Rick completely faces you and takes your hands out your face. He wipes your tears with one hand and gently grasps the nape of your neck, your favorite spot, to calm you down.

“I don’t know why you’re crying but I hope it’s because you love this.” He says, placing a kiss on your forehead.

“I do! It’s just…” You have trouble articulating your words, and because he’ll probably disagree anyway you just come out and say it. “I don’t deserve this! I don’t deserve any of it…?”

“Now you and I both know that’s not true. And even if you don’t know, I know it isn’t true. So that’s all that matters. Now come here and sit your cute butt on this nice duvet.”

_____

Your date with Rick was one of the best experiences you have ever had. He explained that the meals you both had were made by him with you in mind. It made you think back at the times you went out for donuts or other treats and how he paid special attention to what you were allergic to. He really thought of everything, didn’t he?

“Are you enjoying yourself?” He asks, scooting closer to you. You meet him half way and he pulls you down to lay next to him.

“Definitely.” You tuck your hand around his midsection and hug him. “Thank you so much, Rick. This has been amazing.”

“Any time. For you, anyway.”

You stay like that for a little while, watching the clouds pass by. As you start to dose off he shifts ever so gently, causing you to look up and meet his eyes. He stares at you for a moment, deep in thought you assume. “What’s wrong, hun?” You ask, hoping you didn’t do anything wrong.

He turns his body until he’s almost on top of you, making you blush. Inches away from your face, he smirks and finally closes the gap with a kiss on your lips. He finally did it! You’ve been waiting for him to do this for weeks and it’s happening! Your eyes are as wide as dinner plates as entangles his fingers in your hair, deepening the kiss. All at once, your body responds to the contact and you have your hand on his neck, massaging the area. You close your eyes, the kiss being too intense for you, and your other arm wraps around him. Nothing really went further than that and you were okay with it, if he wanted to take it slow it wasn’t a problem. He placed one more kiss on you and looked at your flushed face, causing him to chuckle. “Was that okay?” He asked, moving to sit up.

You let him go and went to lay down in his lap. “Yeah, that was better than the usual washing machine technique guys go for.” This made him laugh harder.

“That’s good.”

_____

It was getting dark, so they got everything packed in the ship and was ready to go. As Rick started cruising through space, he turned to you with a smirk. “Hey.” He said.

“What?”

“You may ask your questions.”

“Oh thank GOD.” You yell, nearly jumping to his side of the ship as you start bombarding him with questions. “How did you get this thing to work?! And how are we in space?! How do you know about any of this!!?? How do you get so much money-?”

“Baby calm down!” he exclaims through his laughter. "You are adorable, you know that?”

“Yeah you tell me all the time, now tell meeee!” You’ve never seen him laugh so much.

_____

Throughout the ride back home, he tells you everything he thinks is safe for you to know about his interdimentional travel and his travels around this universe. He tells you about his decades of research to get him where he is today, and how much of a gift and a curse it is. But he also tells you he’s okay with where he is now, especially since you’re here with him now.

Eventually, you make it home and he opens the door for you. When you make it to your front door, you turn to him.

“You wanna spend the night?”

“Can I spend the night?”

You both say this at the same time, making each other laugh. You open your apartment and walk in holding his hand. He stops you for a moment and takes his wallet out.

“Rick you don’t have to…” As you try to stop him, he pulls out two Benjamins and places it on your key bowl. That with the other “gifts” he’s given you just paid your rent, so you stop yourself.

“I forgot to give you last time.” He still hasn’t told you where he gets all this money from, but you let it go for now.

You both get in your room and look at each other, realizing Rick doesn’t have pj’s with him.

“Uh… You wanna borrow mine?” You ask, slightly embarrassed.

“Nah I got it.” He says, pulling out a…bulky looking gun. Wait what the-! He shoots it next to him and a green vortex thing materializes beside him. He walks through it and it disappears. Not even two seconds go by and another one appears and he walks through, in a full set of pj’s, slippers to match. Apparently the only thing he found weird was you slack jaw. “You good?”

“…uh huh.”

It was time for bed and the events that had taken place were a lot to take in for one day, so you go to one side of the bed and he goes to the other. You shuffle next to him and he wraps his arms around you, facing you.

“G'night, sugar.” He whispers, kissing your lips after. It was a soft kiss, and you wish it would have lasted forever, but he pulled back and smiled, making you smile.

“Goodnight, love.” You say, and finally, you both drift off to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get to know about Rick and his family a little better. Obviously, this isn't C-137's universe, so things are pretty different here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: This has mentions of abuse and non consensual sex.

You woke up first the next morning, legs entwined with Rick's and his arms wrapped around you. You wanted to stay there forever, watching him as he slept soundly. He looked so peaceful like that, but it wasn't much of a juxtaposition from what he's usually like with you. You lean in and place a light kiss on his nose, making him smile in his sleep. You loved this, but all good things must come to an end. For better things, anyway. You carefully untangle yourself from his comfortable grasp on you, making him stir slightly, and get up from the bed to make your way to the kitchen.

"What should I make for him?... I hope pancakes are fine." You say to yourself, tapping your nails on your mini breakfast bar. You decide on the breakfast choice and start cooking. Yesterday passes through your mind as you cook and you can't help but smile. You've never taken it this slow with a guy before, but you wanted to get used to it. It was nice to have someone raise the bar in terms of what you look for in a person. Soon enough breakfast is ready, and you make your way back in the bedroom to wake Rick up.

As you reach his side, you realize that he seemed troubled. He had a ghost of a scowl on his face. Not being really sure what to do, you reach and hold his cheek in your hand trying to sooth him. Your hand is met with a dampness as you caress his face. Had he been crying?

"Rick? Honey are you okay?" You lean in and hold his face with both hands, thoughts rushing through your mind. You'd never seen him cry before...of course humans are capable of such an action, but this is Rick. You thought he could have been different. Thinking of it now, that's the type of difference you see in a "tough love" father figure. Your assumption becomes more ridiculous after some thought.

You lightly tap his face to snap him out of his nightmare and he awakens with a flinch. "Baby?" He says, smiling up at you. It doesn't seem like he remembers the dream. You did want to be sure, however.

"Are you okay, love? You looked upset when I walked in. You were crying..." You scooted closer to him, as if you couldn't get any closer. You had hoped that he would laugh the crying part off and say it was just a night terror he didn't remember, but when he furrowed his brow and broke his gaze on you, your anxiety only increased.

"Uh...it's nothing." You can almost see the wall he put up in that moment. This is a side of Rick you've never seen before. So blatantly closed off and unwilling to even look at you. He's usually open with his feelings at any moment. However now that you think about it, being open with his feelings is the only thing he's done with you when it came to opening up. He's never really said anything about his fears or insecurities, not even his past. Though, you can't expect everyone to be like you. You have an open door policy on your life, if you're being honest with yourself. "You cooked breakfast?" He asks, quickly changing the subject.

"Uh, yeah. Come, get up." You hop up to give him room and make your way back to the dining room, with Rick in tow. When you turn to face him and gauge his reaction to your set up, you're met with a soft smile and a kiss to your cheek in appreciation.

"Thank you baby. This is amazing." He says, taking your hand and bringing you to one side of the table to sit. He pulls the seat out for you and takes his own seat after.

"You haven't even eaten any and It's already amazing?"

"Well the presentation, anyway. Honestly, I don't think I would tell you if it tasted bad." He quipped, making you laugh out loud.

During your breakfast, you couldn't help but think about Rick's face earlier. The nightmare, the change of subject, the way that he was acting as if nothing happened. You didn't want to be intrusive, and you had no right to be, but you couldn't help but to feel worried for the man you've grown so attached to. You wanted to know more about him, as much as he was willing to tell you. As he took your dishes go clean -as he insisted- you followed him to at least help dry them. 

You couldn't help but to break the silence between you two when you looked up at him. "Rick?"

"What is it, baby girl?" He responds, not looking up.

"Is everything okay? I know you said the nightmare was nothing but...are you stressed?" You turn to him, putting the plate you were working on down. He still hadn't looked at you when you started rambling, and by the end of it he stopped as well, turning off the water and focusing on the suds in the sink. He seemed to be thinking of the proper words to say in that moment. 

You hoped that he wouldn't just dismiss your plea and tell you to forget about it. Time stood still as the cogs visibly turned in his head and you realized how expressive he is. He wears his emotions on his sleeve.  
Finally, he stands up straight and turns his head to you. "Alright. Come sit with me." He wipes his hands off and places his hand on the small of your back, leading you to your futon. "I hope you have enough time in the day for the long answer. You opened this can of worms yourself."

This didn't deter you in the slightest. You wanted to know everything about this man. If you were honest with yourself, you might even be In love with him, though you felt like it was too early to tell. "I'm prepared for anything, just help me help you."

He huffs out a sigh and shifts in his seat, trying to get comfortable. When he couldn't find the right spot, he turned to you mocking frustration, "I gotta get you a new couch." He teases, making you giggle. You assume this is to calm his nerves a bit before sending himself though a whirlwind of emotions. As expected, his playful tone fades as he begins, "Okay. To start off, I have a daughter named Beth. If I'm stressed about anyone, it would be her."

"How old is she?" You didn't want to know the answer but you asked anyway.

"35." Ouch. She's older than you. Well what did you expect? "Can I go on?" He asks, looking you over with no emotion.

"Go ahead."

He turns his gaze ahead of him as he continues, "Okay. Well, she recently got kicked out of her own home, along with her two kids, by her husband. They were together almost as long as...uh...almost as long as I've been out of her life." His eyebrow furrowed, out of frustration for who, you weren't sure. But you couldn't blame him. It was a heavy start. "I abandoned her at 14 and I regret it to this day... Maybe if I didn't she would've known to stay away from abusive assholes like him. She didn't know any better so she stayed in that marriage for years, thinking he could change. He turned her and her kids into nervous wrecks and that's why one of them, her son, ran away." He pauses for a moment, putting his head in his hand.

You didn't expect his situation to be so grim.  
You didn't know what to do except reach to rub his shoulder, showing him your support. He responded by wrapping his arms around you and holding you near him. His relaxed body didn't match his face, unfortunately, a dazed and disgruntled expression etching his features. You wanted for him to let go of the tension badly, but there had to be baby steps.

"My grandson, Morty, is out there somewhere. I don't know where the kid is, he split from his mom and sister on their way over to me. I don't know if he went back to his piece of shit father or to someone else's house or even if he's still alive, but I gotta find him soon. It's just difficult because I haven't met him yet. Kid only just turned 14." He laid his head on yours, his heart beat picking up pace. "I was supposed to visit Beth and meet the kids for the first time in 20 years this year, but she got kicked out faster than I could get there. Luckily, she found the emergency phone number I left for her and called me. I never wanted her to use it..."

"Why don't you call the police? Issue a missing child's report?" You try to at least help a little. Hearing this makes you feel hopeless.

"And let that bastard know where my daughter is? I'm gonna find morty myself, baby. I don't need national attention." He says, slightly agitated. By the way he's massaging you scalp in thought you know his anger isn't directed at you. "I'm gonna find him, and when I do I'm gonna kick his ass for leaving his mom. And then when he's safe, I'm gonna find that bastard father of his and I'll be honest with you, baby. I might kill him...you can't tell anyone I said that."

You didn't think he was serious so you chuckled. "Who would I tell? And what would killing him fix?" When you didn't hear him laugh you sat up and looked at him. He wasn't serious, was he?

He sat back in the futon and looked up at the ceiling, continuing, "That would fix the irreversible damage he caused to my family. You don't understand, baby. I had to find out a week ago that summer, my granddaughter..." He stopped at that moment and clenched his jaw, trying hard not to wrongfully lash out on you. "I found out from my daughter that Summer's conception wasn't...consensual. That fucker doesn't deserve to breathe the same air I do."

The breath was knocked out of your body. To hear a revelation like that was something you were never used to. You may not have known Beth, but you felt for her. To deal with that sort of pain and torment for you don't know how long, and then experiencing one of your children going missing after escaping said torment? It's heartbreaking.

"You know what's really killing me out of all of this?" He asks, breaking you out of your thoughts.

"What's that?" Could there be more?

"Beth told me when she let the kid know where she was taking them, he wanted nothing to do with it, he said I would do the same thing their waste of space father would. Could you believe that? I mean... I don't blame him... I am a piece of shit...but it still hurts to hear. I got all this love to give to my family and he wants none of it." Hearing him talk so low about himself makes you want to cry. He looks up at you finally and caresses your face. "I'm a lot nicer than what I used to be. I'm trying to change for them, y'know. They've been through enough. Seeing how miserable they are now stresses me the hell out, that's why I've been having those nightmares...I'm sorry I didn't open up before."

"Rick, you have nothing to be sorry for." You tell him, hugging him tightly around his midsection. "Have you gotten any progress with finding morty?"

He paused for a moment, thinking. It seemed like he was trying to think of an answer instead of saying the truth. You would have to accept it for now, he was already being so open with you. "Yeah. I have a search party of my own. When I'm not searching, they usually are. Although that is rare." This makes you think back on the curfew he previously mentioned. You wondered what a man his age would need a curfew for but now you knew it was a curfew from you so he could have time to search. "This is the first weekend I haven't looked for him. Thank you for letting me stay."

"Any time, honey. Thank you for trusting me."

"Of course."

It was afternoon now, the sun rapidly setting during this time of year. You and Rick spent a lazy day in bed together, getting food through portals and watching shows on Netflix. You weren't exactly focused on the show, rather you were still thinking about Rick and his family. How was he going to find Morty? Is there anyway you can help? What if they couldn't get him in time? What's gonna happen with the husband? These questions ran through your brain and upset you. You didn't realize it, but Rick saw this happening, watching your face tightening in worry. He takes your face in his hand, snapping you out of yourself.

"Sweet pea." He says, narrowing his eyes at you.

"Yes?"

"Everything will be fine."

How did he know what you were thinking? Your gaze falls away from him when you ask, "are you sure?" Kissing his hand.

With both hands, he holds your face and leans in to place a soft kiss to your lips. After a moment, he breaks away with a smile. "Absolutely."

That night, he told you he had to get back to check on his family. He thanked you for the talk and kissed you goodbye for now, but before leaving, he showed you a picture of a brunette-haired boy in a yellow shirt.

"This is Morty. If you happen to see him around just call me, okay?"

"Alright." With this information, at least you don't feel so useless. Hopefully, you would be able to find him before the temperature gets freezing. 

After closing your door, you sat on your futon, hypothetically punching yourself for being a coward. You wanted to confess your love to him before he left. It was on the tip of your tongue but it just wouldn't come out.

"Maybe another time." You said to yourself. But in that moment, a portal appears in front of you and you're met with Rick again. "Rick?!"

"Sorry! I couldn't leave without telling you something." He rushes to your side and plants a wet kiss to your cheek, making you cackle.

"What is it?” you say through your fit of laughter.

"I love you." Of course he was thinking the same thing.  
You smile back at him with brightest smile you can manage.

"I love you too, Rick."


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get a surprise visit

Two weeks had passed since Rick revealed information about his family. Things went on like normal for you two, but the thought of his grandson being out there not knowing how to care for himself or even getting himself hurt kept you up at night. Rick told you not to worry, that he didn't tell you about Morty for that reason, but you couldn't help it. You hated the idea that a kid, barely even a teenager, is having to fend for themselves in the cold. Anyone with a heart would be worried. Especially if that child is a relative to someone so important to you.

You were having yet another night of restlessness, tossing and turning, thinking of what you can do in this unique situation, when suddenly you hear your door knob jingling. This was strange, because only you had the key to your house. Rick didn't need one, he just portals in with your permission. So who was trying to get in your house at...

"4am? What the heck." You snap up from the bed as the time registers in your mind. Something wasn't right. Seeing nothing in your room strong enough to take down a huge burglar, you opt for the small vase on your dresser and creep to your front door. It didn't sound like this person was very good at lock picking because even when you got to the door, they were still struggling. At this point, you really didn't know what to do, so you choose to look through the peephole against your better judgment. Once you caught sight of the culprit, you noticed that this person...looked familiar.

Wait...it couldn't be...

You swing open your door to find...

"Morty?!” you yell out, confused and startled. This could not be happening right now. How did he get here?

The shock makes the boy fall back, his backpack breaking his fall, and he freezes, terrified of what he expects to be the end of his free life. " Oh God, I-I-I-I'm sorry miss, I'll get out of here! I'm s-s-sorry!" He says starting to get up so he can get the hell out of there.

"Wait, Morty! Come in, you're fine." You say, stepping aside to let him in. He registers you saying his name a second time and turns his head in confusion.

"H-how do you know my name?"

Oh crap. How are you gonna tell him? From what Rick told you, Morty isn't fond of him. Although, you don't want to lie to the boy. You figure being vague might be the best solution.

"A relative of yours told me about you. Now come inside, I know your hungry. Please, I won't hurt you."

After a moment of his suspicious eyes looking you over, he makes his way into your house thankfully.  
_____  
You lead him into your little living room and welcome him to sit on your futon. "Would you like some food? Water? A blanket?" You ask, parental instincts kicking in

"Actually, uh...all of that w...would be nice." He responds, settling in as much as he can. "Can I put me feet up, please?" Gosh he must be so tired.

"Yeah sure. I'll get you those things right now."

You decided to give him a simple turkey and cheese sandwich, since were running out of food. He took the sandwich and water with such desperation it made your heart break and nearly made you cry. You went to get a warm blanket from your room, along with you phone to immediately call Rick about what was currently transpiring.

Handing the blanket to Morty and taking the already clean plate away, you explained, "So, I'm gonna contact your relative and let them know your here."

"Who is it? My mom?" Shoot.

"Well no..."

"My sister?" Crap, he has to stop guessing.

"Just let me contact them real quick and-"

"It's my grandfather, isn't it."

Well... You couldn't lie to him, but you don't know if he's gonna run out your door when you say yes. So you freeze. You don't say anything. You're just locked in eye contact with this boy you want to protect. It lasts for a while, you don't even think you blinked during it. Finally, he turns away from you, a stressed expression on his face.

"Go ahead and call him. I...I won't run."

Thank the stars. Immediately, you unlock your phone and find Rick's number, tapping it to contact him. He must be in deep sleep by now but he had to get up this very instant before Morty changed his mind and ran out anyway. Finally, after what seemed like a year of waiting for him to pick up, you hear the sound of his groaning. No time to feel bad now.

"Sweet pea? Why are you up?" His groggy voice is like music to your ears.

"Rick, Morty is here."

You didn't hear his voice after that, there was a pause and then a lot of shuffling, until you saw a portal developing in the middle of your living room.

"Please don't tell me your lying-" Ricks' voice echos as he comes through the portal in a t shirt and PJ pants, startling Morty off of the futon. Rick did say he's never met the kid before, so seeing something like that as a first impression? Your glad he didn't hop out the nearest window. When Rick caught sight of the movement and turned to Morty's direction, his jaw dropped the slightest bit.

There was a stillness as he paused to look the boy over. And then he exploded. "MORTY YOU LITTLE-"

Immediately, you jump to block Rick from charging at Morty. "Rick, he's traumatized enough! Just calm down and sit." You couldn't bare to see Rick angry at the poor boy. When you sit Rick down, you direct you attention to Morty. "Morty come sit. He's not gonna hurt you, I promise." You say as you reach for his hand. Tentatively, he takes your offer and let's you sit him down. After a minute of silence, you start again, "Morty, do you feel more comfortable talking to Rick with me here or-?"

"Please stay! P-please..." He answers, interrupting you and taking your hand. This makes Rick grumble in frustration.

"I'm not gonna hurt you." Rick says.

"Well, I don't know that! Y-y-you almost attacked me just then!" Retorts Morty, his voice cracking.

"That's because I was irrational then! I'm fine now!"

"I don't believe you!”

"You guys!” you interrupt softly, being weary of your neighbors sleeping at the moment. Taking a deep breath, you explain, "Yelling at each other isn't going to solve anything. Please just take a moment to stop yourself from getting worked up? How about we have a calm discussion. Starting with Morty."

"Huh? Me? Uh...what am I saying?"

"How about...you start by explaining why you ran away from your family?" You suggest. Morty's eyebrows furrow in confusion, probably from the fact that you even know about him running away, but his confusion is interrupted but a bitter scoff.

"I already know why, he hates me." Rick chuckles out in anger. His leg starts shaking so you place your hand on his thigh to calm him down.

Hearing this makes Morty lower his head, and you see him wiping at his eyes. "That's not why, Rick...I just...didn't trust you. D-dad always filled my head w-w(hic)-with stories of you being worse than he could ever be... I didn't know what to (hic) expect...i didn't want to be scared for my life anymore..." You watched as he broke down, tears stinging your eyes as they threaten to fall. When you turned to look at Rick, he was completely still, looking straight ahead and clenching his jaw. After a moment he stands and steps to Morty.

Looking down at the kid, he softens, "I wish you knew I would never hurt you. Neither you mom or sister. They're living with me now and they're safe as long as I'm around. I'm making sure of that. So just...come home, damn it." He ends with a pat on Morty's head.

You didn't think that kid could cry anymore than he already was, but sure enough he let out a sob and got up to hug his grandpa, nearly soaking the t shirt he had on. It was all too much for you and tears started falling down your face.

"Oh God, you too? Why are you both crying? Stop, it's awkward." Rick groans out, pushing Morty away from him. You and Morty take a look at each of your tear streaked faces and laugh lightly as the sun began to rise. Morty turns to his grandpa and smiles.

"It's nice to meet you, Rick."


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick goes on a little trip. This is in Rick's POV for a change. Enjoy.

What are the odds. What are the damn odds of this ever happening. I meet a pretty young girl, introduce her to the crap life I've set up for myself, and she ends up getting dragged into my mess completely by coincidence. At least Morty broke into safe arms. The sheer irony of it all is baffling. But I'm bout complaining. I've got my grandson back, and he was taken care of by someone I feel like I can trust. Everything is almost the way they should be. Almost.

We slept over for a couple more hours at her place. She insisted Morty sleep in her bed while she slept in her neck breaking futon. She must have felt terrible for the kid, he was out in who knows where sleeping on or with who knows what, I don't blame her. But it would have been nice to thank her with a warm embrace in the comfort of her bed. Maybe some other time. For now I'll have to settle with this damn futon. I'm getting her a new one ASAP.

Soon enough the sun rose completely, she got up and gave us breakfast (she was the sweetest person alive, I swear) And we had to be on our way. "Morty?" She called for him, apprehensive about how she'd say what was on her mind. When the kid turned and smiled to her, she softened. "You can stop by any time you want. Really." At the sound of this suggestion we both froze, Morty probably from the new way he was being treated and me because I realized her sweetness knew no end. I opened the portal to head home and with a kiss on the cheek for her and a tearful hug from Morty, we stepped through to my apartment. Morty was nervous about going through but he had no choice, I hadn't driven there. He tripped through with a nudge on my part and was met with his mom carrying a plate of pancakes.

"Hey sweetie. Look who I found." I said, making an effort to watch the plate Beth was holding incase she dropped it in shock. Surely enough, the platter slipped from her palm and I jumped to catch it just in time.

"MORTY! MY BABY!" Beth screams, a river already springing from her eyes.

"Mom! Mom, I'm so sorry." Looks like another tear fest is gonna start, so I go to summer's room to just get it over with.

"Hey, bumblebee, rise and shine. I brought a special guest." I say to her loud enough to break through the sheet of rest she's under.

I hear a groan from her and with a stretch, she's up on her elbows, her hair defying gravity as she rises. "Ugh-wh...hi grampa."

"C'mon, you. Get up."

"M'kay."

As soon as she sees the little brother she's missed for so long, she goes from shock, to anger, to sadness in one sweep of facial expressions. From then on there was no stopping the tears, the questions I vaguely avoided, the excited prancing, the laughs. It was nice while it lasted. However, my job wasn't done. It wasn't time for me to relax yet.

"Hey Beth, sweet heart, I gotta take care of something today so I might not be back till tomorrow." I said, gathering some "materials" For my little "trip".

Beth, being the nervous motherly type she is, flicks her head to me with the sweetest puppy dog eyes she can muster (something very unnatural for her, might I add) and starts to fidget. "But dad, Morty just got back! Don't you wanna spend some more time with us? I'm making tacos tonight." As much as I want to stay to give her some sort of balance for the first time in ages, this had to be taken care of soon.

"I hate to miss it, sweetie, but this can't wait. Save some for me, don't put it together though it'll make everything soggy."

Sighing in defeat, she hugs me tight like she thinks she's gonna lose me. "Okay. I'll keep it in mind. Please be careful."

"Yep. Later kids, I'll make it up to you, I promise." I say, turning to see they were sitting by the table, Summer draping her hand over Morty and showing him something on her phone.

At the sound of my voice she turned to me with the brightest smile I've seen on her so far. "Okay, Grandpa Rick!" She says. Morty turned his head and gave me a nervous smile before turning back, making me chuckle.  
_______

Hopefully this wouldn't take long. I do not want to spend too much time on scum, I'd rather be with my family. Or Y/N. Getting the address from other Ricks was a breeze. All I had to do now was take care of the fucker. Just thinking about him makes my skin crawl. He was living on borrowed time and it was up to me to end it. In my rage-filled thoughts, I almost passed right by the house so I stopped dead in my tracks and peered down, looking for any indication that he was still here. Sure enough, I see the stupid car many Ricks have told me to look for, and descended to a side of the block where he couldn't see me. There were no need for nerves at this moment, so after getting my stuff in my pocket, I was on the front porch knocking the door.

Not much time had passed before the door was opened to reveal a dark haired, pale woman with black and blue splotches on her right upper arm, and what seemed to be a pregnant tummy. Tragic. From the looks of it, and to my infuriating displeasure, he set up a whole other life with some sorry girl in the house MY daughter bought for HER family. Not to mention she bought it with the job he FORCED her to quit and now it's in his name. Damn it all to hell, if I were here earlier—

"Can I help you?" The woman breaks me out of my inner ramblings with she smallest church mouse voice. I almost feel sorry for her.

"My apologies, miss. I was wondering if a man by the name of Jerry Smith lived here?" It felt like poison to utter that name, even more to speak so sweetly in this situation, but I got through it.

"Um, well yes, but he's sleeping at the moment. I can take a message?"

"Oh he's sleeping, huh." The facade fades from my voice as I can't keep it up any longer, and I see her cower slightly. Okay, now I feel sorry for her. Thinking back on what I saw below me as I made my way here, I open a portal to the nearest motel and take her by the waist so she can't move. "Listen hun, this isn't a good place to be right now. Take this and make yourself comfortable. You never saw me." After shoving a wad of cash in her hand I push her through the open portal before she could even react to scream. I hope she didn't fall. Aw well.

I made sure not to make a sound as I ascended up the stairs, suspecting he'd be in one of the rooms. Knowing many Ricks had it's perks, I didn't have to ever see the house before to know the lay out. Once I found the door to the master bedroom, it took all the willpower I had in me not to kick down the door. Didn't need any more commotion or attention to the house. Willpower really was on my side today, I didn't think I'd have all this self control when I looked at the piece of garbage for the first time. He was sleeping a little too peaceful for my liking, so after getting the things I needed out my lab coat, I got my syringe and stabbed it into his neck, jostling him out of his undeserving slumber. It didn't take long for the drug to start working, his body fell limp as soon as he attempted to rise up and attack me.

"What thu-who are..." He managed to slur out before his tongue went limp along with the rest of him. The drug won't kill him. That was never the purpose. I just need for him to not move while I do what I need to. Now that I have him where I want him, the fun can begin.

Automatically my face morphs to a sinister smile as I begin. "Hi Jerry. I know we haven't met before, but you remember Beth, right?" I ask him, not expecting an answer but stopping anyway. At the sound of Beth's name, his eyes grow as wide as his pathetic limp body allows him. My smile grows wider and I chuckle.

"Yeah, I thought you'd remember. Well, I'm Rick, her father. I can't say it's particularly nice to meet you but...it's nice to finally catch up, don't you think?" As I continue, I see his eyes desperately shift, trying his best to get out and possibly fight me. It's comical, really.

"If you're trying to get up, you can't. That drug makes your body limp but makes sure you don't go numb."

I stand up and start to pace as I continue, "You're probably to stupid to realize what that means, so let me explain. You are gonna be able to feel every single thing I do to you. Every stab, cut, punch, kick, etc. You're gonna feel it, and there's not a damn thing you can do about it but die. Okay?" I finish with a smile. It didn't seem like he was paying attention to me, eyes still shifting and annoying me, so I snap him out of his idiocy, literally.

"How about an example?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk who dressed Summer up in a bumblebee costume but it was super cute and that's where her nickname came from. If anyone knows where that's from lmk plz.


End file.
